Dino Saga 050828 | FerrariChat

Dino Saga 050828

Discussion in 'Corbani's Corner' started by John Corbani, Aug 28, 2005.

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  1. John Corbani

    John Corbani Formula 3
    Honorary Owner

    May 5, 2005
    1,153
    Santa Barbara, CA
    Full Name:
    John Corbani
    #1 John Corbani, Aug 28, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Dino Saga 050828

    If you want to use a Ferrari as a daily driver you must be rich or be willing to do it yourself. If you catch problems when small, they are easy to fix! That means fix it now! You need a mechanic, on retainer, who can respond overnight, or sooner. Some Santa Barbara folks have a beautiful stable with a resident mechanic. I can’t afford that. I buy books and tools instead.

    My MGs gave me a great primary education in fixing things. Everything broke, regularly or eventually. The Alfas had hardly any serious problems and I got used to Metric dimensions. disk brakes, radial tires, plugs, Weber carbs. No sweat! I was not afraid of the Ferrari but my engineering background made me suitably cautious. I have built up a suit of tools that can handle most everything that does not involve pulling the engine. The following pictures detail the four general groups that I carry in the car at all times. They might be of interest to other do-it-yourselfers. Every thing there has earned its place except for the English sockets. I carry them because all the drives, etc. are there and they came with the set. Besides, I work on golf course mowers too. I keep the stock Dino jack at home. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

    The heavy tools include a scissor jack, wheel-lug deep socket with ½” breaker bar, plug socket with dedicated extension and ratchet, oil-drain Allen wrench, a multi-bit racheting screwdriver and a vinyl pouch for wrenches and screwdriver. Jack/handle sit in left trunk well with a spare quart of oil and a rag.

    Light tools are straightforward. Feeler gauge, Ty-Wraps, plug gapper and right angle screwdriver have earned their keep. Zippered pouch holds it all.

    Combi wrenches are kept in 2 multi-pocket fabric rolls. Upper row in one, lower in the other. Note that there are two of each from 8 to 15 mm. Note also that the pairs are not identical. I like Craftsman but went to other Sears lines to make sure that the 12 point ends of the wrenches were offset by a half point. So many places in the Dino are so tight that it is worth the effort. Note the home-made 11mm fitting wrench. A Moto-Tool with a fiber-glass cut-off disk and/or carbide cutters can make great special purpose tools.!

    Sockets and accessories are in a steel case. Hard to find now but still possible. Lots of parts in a rugged, small package. Plastic cases are too big and hold too little. Everything is Craftsman except for the Snap-On ¼” ratchet. That little guy feels good and ratchet angle is just right. Adapters allow any drive to run any socket from ¼” to ½” drive. Crow-feet are handy for carbs, big Allen is for CV joints, ¼ square to hex adapter handles screwdriver bits, flex and universal get into impossible situations.

    Final object (not shown) is a small analog, taut band, multimeter that can do ohms on a single AA battery. I know, digital is in, but heat and vibration do terrible things to cheap digital meters. Make up your own clip leads using larger (1.5”) alligator clips soldered onto 4 ft. red and black wires. Meter lives in right well wrapped in terry towel. Wrenches, pouches, sockets float in bottom of trunk. Trunk also sports jumper cables, spare alternator belt, 15 ft of 5/8” nylon rope, couple of 1 ft bungee cords and 10 ft of 1/8” nylon cord. Golf clubs complete the package and there is still plenty of room for an overnight bag for two.

    Rope? Have towed and have been towed. If it is to home and the tower/towee is a trusted friend, why not? Beats waiting hours for a $150 tow. Tie onto bumper supports. Use bowline knot. Go easy.

    Nylon cord? Had throttle cable break at rear pulley as valet was backing into parking place. My lady and I were long gone. When I came back after a fine lunch the guy was about to die. For 10 minutes he explained that he didn’t do anything, the accelerator pedal just went to the floor. Seems he shut down and pushed the car into place and agonized for an hour. I calmed him down, went next door to a ships chandler, bought the cord, made a hand throttle, drove the car home and fixed the cable. I gave the guy a big tip and now we joke but he is still a little skittish. Kept the cord ‘cause you never know!

    Everything else I keep at home. Filter wrench, torque wrench, big sockets, timing light, mikes, calipers, Moto-Tool, drill motor, trolley jack, etc. Fixing is fun! There is always something that just needs a touch!

    John
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  2. David_S

    David_S F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 1, 2003
    11,260
    Mountains of WNC...
    Full Name:
    David S.
    That looks like about 30 lbs of gear that could get you out of almost any mishap. Probably looks familiar for most anyone who drives something out of the ordinary on a truly daily basis :)

    Keep up the good work John - you are this site's version of the old movie serial!
     
  3. Kram

    Kram Formula Junior

    Jul 3, 2004
    867
    Park bench, Canada
    Full Name:
    Mark
    John, that's a great post. Mind you, it doesn't make me want to run out and buy a Dino, just shares in Sears!
     
  4. Ken

    Ken F1 World Champ

    Oct 19, 2001
    16,078
    Arlington Heights IL
    Full Name:
    Kenneth
    You've GOT to be kidding. I take a cell phone, flashlinght, two wrenches, two screwdrivers and duct tape with me in my Lotus Europa. If I can't fix it with that then it needs a tow. I've been stranded 3 times and two of them wasn't for a lack of tools but my own lack of knowledge of what was wrong. And the third time was a shot distributor so no tools outside of a spare would have helped.

    Have you ever rescued yourself with that tool shop you haul around?

    Ken
     
  5. John Corbani

    John Corbani Formula 3
    Honorary Owner

    May 5, 2005
    1,153
    Santa Barbara, CA
    Full Name:
    John Corbani
    Ken, Others,

    As I said, every tool has earned it's keep. Pulled jets, changed belts, pulled filters, changed points, unhung advance mechanism in distributor, sensors, alternator, wiring, lights, seats, etc. Have pulled heads (admitedly at home). If I keep a tool in the car, I know where it is, and I can get to it in seconds. Have probably saved over $1000 in towing over the last 19 years. Saved monthes of aggravation. Worth it!

    As far as weight and bulk:

    I pulled AC compressor, clutch and massive mounting bracket back in 1987. I threw the Dino jack in the basement 30 seconds after the first time I tried it.
    29 lbs for compressor, about 4 for the jack.

    Everything in the pictures adds up to 23 lbs. No problem.

    Thanks for the feedback,

    John
     

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